


SigMik

by LordTraco



Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: Child Loss, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-16
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-09 13:48:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4351175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordTraco/pseuds/LordTraco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Romance is dangerous in the silent world, yet the two in the team who perhaps know this best aren't so great at crushing those feelings for each other. Flowers and kisses lead to learning quite a lot about one another. (diverges from canon plot)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Warring Heart

Chapter 1:  
Warring Heart

“I’m too old for this!” The captain thought as she turned over in her cot. Of the rhythmic breaths of those below her, one stood out. She was captivated by how calm and open he seemed when asleep, never moving from his uncomfortably deathly position. 

Her heart sank, remembering too many comrades like that, and far too many without enough left to salvage for a casket. Too many flowers held in their lifeless hands and placed on their lifeless graves.  
  
She would turn down flowers or needless displays of affection after her first few trial runs of love. It hurt to realize they were ever anything more than that. She wanted someone who would care enough about her to stay alive, not get distracted by her and make her guilty for their deaths, but it seemed she could not have that.

But he had given her a flower. Simply picked one while waiting outside one of their latest raid. And it made her heart flutter just as it had when she had her first crush at 12. 

“He’s not even good looking!” She thought in vain as she examined his muscular build. Her heart refused to still when she looked at his expressionless face and long sideburns. What would those sideburns feel like? Soft? Could she hold them, twist her finger through them, just before kissing him? 

“NO! I don’t want to kiss him! I just want him not to die. That’s all!” Oh but now her mind had stopped listening, instead bringing her focus back to his calm breaths, imagining those breaths on her neck. Chills went down her spine as she vehemently forced away those thoughts. Why oh why couldn’t he just snore obnoxiously like a normal soldier?

Sigrun gave up on sleeping, deciding that she needed a distraction. She slowly worked her way down from the bed, gingerly walking over Mikkel, hoping beyond hope to not wake him up. He barely stirred when she walked by him, and she sighed in relief. 

Then the alarms went off. Sigrun tore back to her bed and slapped Tuuri’s mask onto her face while standing on Mikkel. Without bothering to acknowledge him or the groggy driver, Sigrun ran to the door to check that it was indeed Lalli. “Mikkel, he’s back.” Sigrun said with a yawn, moving towards the driver’s compartment. The sky was still very dark and she plopped down into the driver’s seat. 

Once decontaminated, Tuuri translated what little Lalli had discovered. There wasn’t as much for him to find now that he had discovered most of the driving hazards, so he had returned early. It was a good idea because that would allow him some sleep before their next raid. The rest returned to sleep, but Sigrun stayed in the driver’s seat. 

“You coming?” Mikkel asked. 

“Nah.” 

“You haven’t gotten a whole lot of sleep.” 

“I’ll be fine in the morning.” She yawned, hoping he would leave her with her thoughts. And her flower that she was feeling in her pocket. It was in pieces but the petals still felt nice. 

“What’s wrong?” Mikkel asked, sitting in the couch-like side seat beside her. She cursed his caring nature. It would be terrible to have both their medic and captain sleepy in the morning. 

“Not a thing!” She put her hands up, forgetting about the flower in her pocket that now tumbled out in pieces. 

“Not a thing, huh?” Mikkel asked with mild amusement as she scrambled to pick up the petals and shove them back in her pocket. 

She stayed silent, blushing. 

“I won’t get you any more if it bothers you.” Mikkel said. His face was unreadable as always. 

Sigrun looked at him, then pushed away all her inhibitions. She grabbed him by his side burns and kissed him. They WERE soft! He took it in stride, kissing her back while pulling her from the driver’s seat and onto the couch. 

They both shared a little grin after the kiss and went back to the sleeping compartment without a word. Nothing needed to be said. Sigrun just needed to sleep off this blush before morning. And the giddy happiness. 

 

…

“So are you two dating?” Tuuri asked Mikkel as he organized the books and she transcribed the text more. 

Mikkel didn’t skip a beat. “I couldn’t tell you.” 

“You keep getting her flowers.” 

“The few Kastrup has to offer.” 

“And I saw you two kiss.” 

“What?” He stopped looking at the papers and turned to face her. “When?” 

Tuuri smirked. “Well not so much SAW as much as I HEARD it.” 

“We weren’t-”

“The tank was silent, then there was a faint kissing noise, and then I hear both Sigrun and you return. And in the morning her blush still hadn’t gone away. You two are dating!” 

“I still wouldn’t call it that.” 

“Then what would you call it?” 

“A crazy captain and a man willing to placate her feelings."

“Don’t you like her?” 

“I’ve only known her for a couple of weeks.” He said, looking away. Tuuri caught his gaze again with her inquisitive eyes, however. “Ok, yes. That’s why I gave her the flower that started this all. I never thought anything would come of it. If anything I hoped to put an end to whatever she felt towards me. The flower was ugly."

"You thought to give her a flower."

"I heard she hated being given gifts on missions, that it was a distraction she didn't approve of."

"You put all this careful planning into this... to make her STOP liking you?"

"Romance in the silent world is dangerous."

Tuuri kept quiet. Something didn't quite add up. It took a minute before she blurted "You wanted to get rejected because YOU have a crush on her!"

Mikkel's eyes widened. "I-no-that's- "

"You didn't think she liked you back~"

"Let's... get back to transcribing." He turned away but was certain that Tuuri caught a glimpse of his reddening cheeks.

“Well whatever you two are to each other, I’m glad. You both are cute as a couple!” 

Mikkel hid the faintest of smiles as he returned to the paperwork in front of him. A couple. He was part of a couple. With the craziest of Norwegian captains that existed. At least it wouldn’t get boring.


	2. Captain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sad headcanon back-story ahead. This and the next chapter both tell the scene from different viewpoints. 
> 
> Also look at what my awesome cousin drew for me!!! :D

Source: my wonderful cousin  


 

 

 

Sigrun’s view:

Her hand lingered on his after being helped up. Their eyes met and they hesitated to turn away from the each other’s gaze. Time seemed to slow, as if the silent world surrounding them had simply ceased its quiet danger. Slowly she closed the distance between them, putting her forehead to his. 

“I love you, Sigrun.” His words were barely audible despite the fitting silence that emanated from the very ground they stood upon. Neither dared break the peaceful silence. Peaceful silence had never been something either had ever dreamed could exist, but in this moment, they might just be convinced it could. 

“I love you-” 

Something was wrong.   
“-too,” 

What was it? This feeling?   
“- Einar .” 

Sigrun awoke with a start. Putting a hand to her face, she checked for tears. None. Good. A raspy breath was taken in and held, then carefully let out. 

How many years had it been now? Twenty? What was 32 minus 16 again? 20 years seemed right. She hadn’t dreamed of her first lover in a long time, but she was glad it wasn’t the usual nightmare of his death this time. Looking around the dark room, she heard the damned breaths that had started all of this. Sigrun pressed her palms to her eyes in frustration. 

How early was it? Her internal clock told her it was way too early to be awake, but she got up regardless. She gently walked to the front cabin, careful not to make a sound as she acquired one of the biscuits and munched on it. The sun was still not even close to rising yet, and Sigrun sleepily made her way to the couch, hoping to see it rise if she was going to be awake regardless. 

“Einar…” Her heart fell in her chest. She tried to summon tears for him, but couldn’t. “Trygve… Vidar…” She willed with all her might to cry, thinking of all those she’d lost over the years. She swallowed, realizing what she’d need to do to bring out her tears. 

“Ei... ra…” She sobbed, tears forming in her eyes. 

“Who’s Eira?” 

Sigrun jumped to her feet, but fought off her instinct to go into full defense position. Mikkel was looking at her in the darkness, arms folded. Her tear-muddled eyes couldn’t discern any emotion from the blurry dark face in her vision. 

Registering his question, she sat back down on the couch and sighed. The adrenaline in her veins that had awoken her now doubled. She didn’t want to tell him, but… he deserved to know. 

“My daughter.” 

“How long?” 

“What?” 

“How long has she been gone?” 

Sigrun wanted to ask how he knew, but accepted that he just knew. “Too long.” Sigrun looked down. “She was... stillborn.” Sigrun choked up at the last word, but bit her tongue to prevent losing herself to a sobbing fit.

“I’m sorry.” 

“I’m not meant to have children.” Sigrun turned to him. “I can’t keep anyone I love alive.” Tears flowed down her cheeks.

“You don’t need to.” Mikkel moved over to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. “You just keep yourself alive, love.” With a kiss to her forehead, he sat down beside her. 

The silence was peaceful. It was sad but… peaceful. It wasn’t long before sleep overtook them and a new day came to clear away her tears. 


	3. Medic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikkel's viewpoint of the scene. It's quite a bit more in-depth.

Chapter 3

Mikkel’s view: 

Mikkel moved from to his bed on the ground. Reynir had taken to sleeping under Emil’s cot in an attempt to “be less of a bother”, but the medic made sure to give him his mattress every few nights. In the night of course. The Icelander would cause a fuss if he were awake. So much for not being a bother...Sliding the man gently onto the mattress, Mikkel left to take his place on the couch that formed the passenger seat in the driving cabin. 

Staying as quiet as he could with his pillow in hand, he moved towards the front of their cat tank. He heard someone speak and recognized the voice as Sigrun’s. Wondering what was keeping her up, he moved closer. 

“Eira…” A choked out sob from the unbreakably bright person he loved weighed heavily on his heart. Was that a name? It must have come from Eir… mercy. A beautiful name. 

“Who’s Eira?” Mikkel asked, fully expecting the jump his captain made. He watched as she calmed herself down, retaining the serious look on her face he had yet to truly grow accustomed to. The tears streaming down her cheeks didn’t help.

Sigrun hesitated, and Mikkel was about to retract his question for fear of making things worse. “My daughter.” 

Mikkel knew. Sigrun would never have left on this far away a mission if she still had a young child. And a child would have shown on her files if the child were old enough to be left back home. “How long?”

“What?” 

“How long has she been gone?” He didn’t dare say “dead”. That simply wasn’t a word one referred to children as. They were only gone, exploring another plane of existence. 

“Too long.” Mikkel couldn’t imagine a worse answer. “She was stillborn.” Ok that was worse. Mikkel watched his love look to the floor. He tried to empathize but realized he could never truly understand her disappointment. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“I’m not meant to have children.” Sigrun’s tearful gaze met his and her face spoke a quiet apology. Seeing his gaze not turn to a look of betrayal or disappointment as expected, Sigrun continued. “I can’t keep anyone I love alive.”

Mikkel knew that feeling all too well. Survivor’s guilt hung heavy over everyone’s heads, but coupled with a failure to bring a live child into this world… he would love to find it unthinkable. Sadly it was very much a realistic scenario, one he’d seen as a medic quite often. He knew only one cure to survivor’s guilt. 

“You don’t need to.” He said with a kiss to her forehead. “You just keep yourself alive, love.” 

Feeling needed, wanted, and loved. Feeling worthy of life was the cure. He sat beside Sigrun on the couch, wrapping his arm around her and allowing her to lay her head on his shoulder. Putting his head against hers, they enjoyed each other’s company in silence. 

It wasn’t long before new tears trickled down her face, but Mikkel placed his hand on hers, still steadying his weight on his arm. After a long while, he felt his circulation cut off from his shoulder. He moved slightly to readjust.

But Sigrun realized why he had moved and picked up her head. Mikkel cursed at himself for moving as she stood up. Then she pushed him so that he laid down on the couch with his head towards the corner. Confused, he watched her move over to the corner. She lifted his head up, and laid it on her lap as she sat down. She twirled her fingers through his sideburns. 

“Get some sleep, silly Dane.” 

“You too, crazy captain.” 

When the others awoke in the morning, they found their captain half awake with their medic asleep on her lap. He had a smile on his face as he slept, and there was no doubt about the feelings shared between the two eldest members of their little group. 

Well there was some doubt. Reynir didn’t quite get that there could be anything between the two, Lalli could care less, and Emil was trying his damnedest not to bring it up. That left Tuuri. There was no doubt in Tuuri’s mind. 

But there was some doubt in Tuuri’s mind that it would last. Cynicism was her best hidden flaw. She hoped beyond hope that she was wrong. The two were very cute together, but…


	4. Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It'll be more relevant later. For now, enjoy curious Tuuri.

“Hey Sigrun?” 

“If it involves reading, no.” Sigrun said quickly, glancing with suspicion towards the books and papers littering the desk Tuuri was sitting at. 

“Nope. Just a question.” Tuuri said. 

“Shoot.” Sigrun said, pulling up a chair. 

“Do you… are you and Mikkel serious?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Do you see a future with him?” 

“Like what, a family?” Sigrun scoffed. “Honey, I… that can’t happen. And if he wants that, he’ll need someone else.” 

“You… don’t want a family?” 

Sigrun studied the girl, wondering how much to share. “Nope. I’m a captain. I’ve gotta keep little newbies like you alive, and kill off trolls that would eat up your babies.” She put her legs up onto the table and her arms behind her head, getting more relaxed to negate her lying tells. 

“Huh… I just thought, you know… since you’re both immune…” 

“There are enough immune people out there. If he wants a kid, he’s free to find someone else.” She tried to remain cheerful, but it came out rather dark. 

Tuuri turned from her work to study her captain. There was something she wasn’t saying. It was plain as day because typically her captain never put any thought into what she said, or at least not enough to make her hesitate. Tuuri ran a few different questions through her mind, but all of them felt too invasive. Finally she took a different approach. “If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here.” Tuuri said. 

Sigrun looked at her, somewhat confused. A smile grew on her face as she threw her arm to pat Tuuri’s back. “Same to you.” 


	5. The Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by a certain song that I can't listen to without thinking of Sigrun and Mikkel now. 
> 
> (Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon if you haven't heard it)

“Don’t you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me.” Sigrun said, cradling his head in her arms for a moment. She checked his eyes quickly for a concussion, then with a nod, pushed the two of them up to begin running just as the troll turned the corner.  

“You’re holding back” Mikkel mumbled. 

“Shut up and dance with me.” Sigrun said with a grin, jumping to the left suddenly, putting her arm out. As he grabbed it, she unloaded three shots into whatever was chasing them. Then, with the momentum she had, she forced them to spin until they were both facing forward and she ran, pulling his arm. There were too many, but she’d slowed them down considerably. 

Turning another sharp corner, Sigrun threw the two of them into a closet. Both held their breath as the horde passed by. They sighed in relief after a couple minutes. 

“I owe you a real dance one of these days.” Mikkel said in hushed tones. 

“This is the best kind of dancing.” Sigrun mimicked a ballet twirl with a gun in her hand, immediately falling to one knee mid-spin as she spotted a troll. With a moment to take aim, she fired a shot and bounced back to her feet. Mikkel was already running, pulling her behind him. 

Then they heard explosions. “Emil, you’re a bit late to the party! Sigrun said as she dodged the flames and headed towards the entrance. 

“You said not to burn this place down while we were inside it!” 

“Forget what I said, roast them!” Sigrun yelled. She saw the horde coming closer. Their scout unleashed a few shots and she followed suit. Emil was quickly reloading his flamethrower and began to chuckle as he pressed the trigger. It was full blown laughter when the blaze was enough to hold the trolls back. 

Mikkel made a mental note to keep any and all lighters or torches away from this boy. The smell of burning flesh made its way to the team. Most scrunched their noses at it, but Emil was too happy. Far too happy. 

Finally, Sigrun clapped her hand to his shoulder, breaking Emil out of his now maniacal laughter. She saw his eyes widen with fear at what he’d done, expecting to be punished for wasting too much fuel. “Good job, kid!” 

“Thanks.” He said sheepishly, still embarrassed to have just shown the entire team… well some of the team… oh to heck with it, he was just scared of what Lalli would think of him now. 

Thankfully, the scout didn't seem too phased by it and still walked back to the tank right beside their little pyromaniac. While Sigrun stayed behind just a few minutes to go through a full evaluation of Mikkel's head injury. It wasn't a concussion, only the beginning of a nice bruise that Emil would likely tease as being "Face cancer". 


	6. Maladjusted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tuuri is ok with most questions about her life. Sigrun just happened to ask the wrong one.

“Hey Tuuri.” That was odd, she’d never been called by name by her captain before. Did she even know any of their names? Tuuri turned to the owner of the voice on the bunk above hers. 

“Yeah?” She tried to look at her watch, but it was too dark to see the hands. 

“What’s it like?” Sigrun asked. 

“What?” It was too early for this, but this was also very strange behavior for Sigrun. Maybe it wasn’t, though? How could she tell, they’d only been out here for a month-- Oh. 

“What’s it like to not be immune?” Sigrun asked suddenly.

“Shut up.” Tuuri responded, suddenly very hostile. 

“Woah, hey… I’m… I’m sorry. Just sleepy… just… sorry.” Sigrun tried to apologize in her groggy, half awake way. 

“That’s not something you ask someone. Ever.” Tuuri said, holding her blanket in a vice grip and trying to calm her anger. 

“I didn’t mean-”

“You immune people only have to worry about trolls. We have to worry about BECOMING them!!!” Tuuri turned towards the wall, keeping her tears at bay. She was thankful the others were deep asleep, because those words would have woken them up if it weren’t the dead of night. 

“I’m… glad then.” Sigrun mused.

“You’d better be glad you’re-”

“I’m glad she never…” Sigrun couldn’t finish. Tuuri heard a small shudder and the sharp breath of someone fighting off a sob. 

“Sigrun?” 

“Shush. Go to sleep. I’m sorry.” Sigrun said. She controlled her breathing until she heard the familiar sound of Tuuri’s sleeping breaths once more. It had taken about half an hour, by her internal clock. One was missing from the soft symphony of sleeping, however. 

“Love you.” She whispered, half hoping to be wrong and speaking to no one at all.

“Sweet dreams.” Mikkel responded with barely a sound. Sigrun felt warm inside, finally tired to the point where she could sleep past the discomfort. Being happy helped, though. 

 

…

Tuuri awoke as usual to translate Lalli’s findings. Her tone had a sharp edge to it, and her eyes lacked their usual light. Keeping her head down, she quickly translated then left the room to an uncomfortable silence. Lalli simply returned to the sleeping room, but no one could tell if he would speak with his cousin or not. 

Sigrun ran a hand through her hair in frustration, unable to pull off a lighthearted comment or grin. Emil gave her a questioning look. 

Mikkel broke the silence. “Go talk with her. Sort this out, captain.” 

“Can’t I just go hunting once without there being drama or books involved?” Sigrun muttered loudly. 

“How did you manage to get  Tuuri mad at you?” Emil asked, still rather dumbfounded. 

“She asked how it felt to not be immune.” Mikkel offered as Sigrun ignored him in favor of following the Finns. She heard Mikkel continue to carry out a conversation with both Emil and Reynir, though she figured that wouldn’t turn out well with the two different languages needed. 

“Tuuri?” 


	7. Empathy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I originally wrote "Saimaa" as "Sieryuu", some brain dump of "Keuruu" mixed in, I'm guessing. That's all for today's typo bloopers lol)

“You’re angry.” Lalli asked bluntly. Or was it even a question or just a statement? 

“Forget about it.” Tuuri said, turning her back to him and sitting on the edge of her cott. 

“What happened?” 

“Nothing, Lalli, just go to sleep!” 

“No.” Lalli said, sitting up instead of crawling under the cot like he was planning to. He wanted to be kept in the loop for once. 

“Sigrun asked what it’s like to not have immunity.” Tuuri’s voice sounded vicious but also hurt. 

“Ah.” He said, finally understanding. Tuuri didn’t like to be reminded of the past. And her not having immunity prevented her from gaining any new exciting or dangerous memories to erase the past. Lalli had plenty newer near-death experiences as a scout to really think about Saimaa. He wasn’t even afforded time when he slept. 

“Tuuri?” Sigrun said while entering the room. Lalli saw his cousin’s posture stiffen and her gaze turn harsh again. He figured this was the time to huddle under the bed and ignore the gibberish they say to each other in hopes they would figure things out. 

“What do you want?” 

“An opportunity to apologize.” Sigrun said. 

“What?” 

“After this raid I promise you I’ll apologize and explain. But we have to get going and you’re the morale backbone of this team.” Tuuri stopped herself from wincing at that phrase. Sigrun had used the word morale correctly, at least.

“So you want me to pretend to be happy?” Tuuri replied contentiously. 

“Unless you want this team to fall apart out here, yes. This is an order from your captain.” Sigrun said, straightening up ever so slightly when she said “captain”. 

“Alright.” Tuuri played it like she was accepting some apology. “You owe me though.” She said in a happy singing voice. 

“Just keep it believable, please. Now let’s get driving!” 


	8. Mother

Tuuri waited for a long while, thankful that Sigrun, Emil, and Lalli were out looking through the wreckage. They were hoping to find some books in the remnants of their first raid. 

Reynir had tried to help, and Tuuri had finally given in and told him he could “help” by making the beds in the other room. He was currently standing there staring at the corners of the blanket, debating which way they wanted it folded. None of the beds were made, and Tuuri doubted they would be for the rest of the day. 

It was a long wait, watching the others sift through the wreckage. Sometime past noon, they gave up and Tuuri drove them back. A half-charred book was all that they had salvaged, but when she said that the title was one she’d never seen before, it cheered them up slightly. 

When they returned, Sigrun gave Tuuri a sign that said “follow me”. They walked out and around the cat-tank to the trunk area. Sigrun made sure none of the boys had followed them, then sighed. “Tuuri, I’m sorry I asked that to you. I just got thinking about… my…” Sigrun paused for a long while, fighting to keep composure. 

“Your what?” Tuuri asked. 

“My daughter.” Sigrun blurted out. “I knew there was a chance she wouldn’t be immune, but when she came out stillborn, they still checked and told me she wasn’t immune. As if that was some consolation… as if she had avoided some terrible life…” 

“You had a daughter?” Tuuri asked, still processing her words. 

“Her name was Eira. In memory of my first love, Einar.” Sigrun looked out at the trees, taking a deep breath. “Her father didn’t like the name…” 

“What happened?” 

“Einar died, I married Vidar, we were going to have Eira, he didn’t like the name and pushed me, Eira died, Vidar left and soon died.” Sigrun said almost robotically. 

“Sigrun…” 

“People die. I’ve been around long enough to know that, Tuuri.” She ruffled the tuft of hair on Tuuri’s head with a sad smile. “But her death was the only one entirely my fault.” 

“Sigrun you can’t-” 

“So I have to be happy with the life I was given by her death. And to tell the truth, I love it. I don’t think I could have been a good stay-at-home mom. I’d much rather be the mom to the newbies out here.” She smiled, letting go of Tuuri’s hair. “So I’m very sorry about upsetting you, Tuuri.” 

Tuuri was still trying to understand, but after a moment she turned and hugged her captain. “I forgive you, I’m sorry for what happened to your daughter.” 

Sigrun hugged her back. “It’s alright. I get new ones with every adventure.” 

Tuuri giggled despite herself. “You’re much more of a crazy aunt!” 

“The best crazy aunt!” Sigrun released Tuuri and stood up, offering her hand. Tuuri took it and stood up as well. 


	9. Chapter 9

The porch needed to be repainted soon, for the old stain was flaking off here and there. It was not yet worrisome for anyone to walk on it without shoes, but he worried about it. He worried about a lot of things. 

The two recliners faced towards the lavish sunset tonight, contrasting with the leaf-littered floor through the bare remnants of trees. It was like a puzzle of bright pieces, or perhaps a shattered bit of colored glass. As remarkable as the scene was, he looked at the red hues with a heavy heart. 

Where was she now? 

It wasn’t like she didn’t write. Often, someone would write the words she dictated to them, and that letter would reach him in a few days time. But those came few times a year. It was just as often that she would show up at his screen door without warning. The train came in just before sundown, so it was always the sunset that crowned her head so perfectly every time she came back. 

His sister lived in the house a little ways away, but had lived to an age where she needed to be cared for. While his nephews and nieces ran the farm, he took care of his elder sister. But nights like this, he was free to worry. He was free to worry about the love of his life off in the silent world, and his only remaining sibling here in the known world. 

He glanced at the box in his hand then back at the sunrise. It had been a long time since his worry was overtaken by, well, giddiness. 

“Look, Mikkel, the next time she comes back, she ain’t leaving! I’ll set up guard dogs around your house if I have to!” His sister pointed her finger at him in a playfully threatening way. 

“Ragna, I can’t stop her. She is free to do as she pleases.” 

“Well, to put my soul at ease, at least take this.” She rolled over in her bed, pulling open a drawer on her dresser and pulling out a very old, small box. Before he could question, she pulled off her wedding ring as well, placing it in the box along with another. 

“Ragna no! I can’t just take-”

“They aren’t doing me a lot of good and it’d cost you this whole farm to buy her a new one.” 

“She… can’t have children.” 

“Then for goodness sake, take mine! I’ve got more than enough to share.” 

“Ragna…” 

“She makes you happy, Mikkel. And she’s getting older. She’s nearly past her prime, so take her before something bad happens to her out there.” 

“Don’t say that.” 

“Ask her.” 

“Are you sure you want to give her your-” 

“Yes. It was just dead weight on my hand. I hope it’s a symbol of love on hers.” 

“...thank you.”

How long would it be until he saw her again? How many more evenings would he hold this box in his hand and stare out at the setting sun. He let his eyelids fall, leaning back on his rocking chair. He was growing too old… 

He let out a defeated sigh and put the box back into his pocket. 

“Tired from washing the pigs?” His eyes snapped open to see a woman standing over him, the stars sparkling through the red hair that cascaded down her face. Slowly getting up from his seat, he heard soft thuds of her luggage being dropped. She threw her arms around his neck, grinning. “Miss me?” 

“Perhaps.” Mikkel said, a small smile on his face. His wise remark didn’t quite match though, his smile was far too genuine. 

“Me too.” She pressed her mouth to his for a kiss, but he did not reciprocate right away. 

“Sigrun?” 

“Mmm?” 

“I have something I want to ask you.” 

“Me first!” Sigrun suddenly yelled. She ran to her luggage and started throwing her things in a frenzy. 

Mikkel didn’t know how to respond, so he let her rummage through until she found something. It was a small bag tied closed with a string. 

She looked at him smiling. “Hold out your hand and close your eyes.” 

He did as he was told and felt something small fall into his hand. Opening his eyes, he saw a small ring. It was a plain gold with some lost language's writing inscribed on it. The heart after the letters told him they spelt fitting words, however foreign they were. 

“I took a few extra trips, but I think it’s worth it.” 

“Does this mean-” 

“Will you marry me, Mikkel?” Sigrun asked. 

In response, Mikkel grabbed the box out of his pocket and handed it to her. She looked puzzled at it for a long while until she finally figured out to open it from the top. When she did, her face lit up. 

“Only if you’ll marry me, Sigrun.” Mikkel said, kneeling. He took her hand and slid his sister’s ring onto his love’s finger. 

Once he was done, she knelt down too. Mikkel wondered if this was the correct way to do things, but didn’t mind. She took his hand in hers, contemplating which ring to put on his finger. Finally she decided on the ring that matched hers. “You’ll get your real one when we have the wedding.” Sigrun said with a definitive tone. 

“Neither of us have said yes yet.” Mikkel joked. 

“Too bad, you’re stuck with me anyways!” 

"Crazy captain!"

"Boring book reader!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place a long time after canon, so I may push it forward to make room for more chapters going on during the actual comic timeline, but I haven't really felt much inspiration for this in a long while. 
> 
> This chapter is the last one I had written up over a long time and kept private. I don't know if I'll be inspired to insert more chapters or not, but I hope you liked it as it is. Thank you for reading!


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